Last week Bessenhoffer got to within 15 flags of his goal before the highway officials interceded again. He was given until Monday to remove the flags, or the state will take them down again.

Bessenhoffer said he has accepted defeat. "I'm an old man. This is a lot of work for me," he said, adding that he didn't understand the fuss. "I could see if it was a Ku Klux Klan flag or a Nazi flag, but this flag means a lot to a lot of people, especially veterans."